


The Rescue

by hlravensnest_archivist



Category: Highlander: The Raven
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-12-31
Updated: 2006-12-31
Packaged: 2018-12-16 22:17:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,845
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11838117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hlravensnest_archivist/pseuds/hlravensnest_archivist
Summary: Note from Daire, the archivist: this story was originally archived atHL Raven's Nest. Deciding to give the stories a more long-term home, I began importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in August 2017. I e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address onHL Raven's Nest's collection profile.





	The Rescue

**Author's Note:**

> Note from Daire, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [HL Raven's Nest](http://fanlore.org/wiki/HL_Raven%27s_Nest). Deciding to give the stories a more long-term home, I began importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in August 2017. I e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address on [HL Raven's Nest's collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/hlravensnest/profile).

The Rescue by RSSacchi

  
  
  


_The Rescue_

By RSS 

* * *

Nick is seated behind his desk when Amanda walks in. Seated across from him is a gorgeous woman with long blonde hair who is wearing a red dress. She has stiletto heeled shoes and a cigarette in her hand. Amanda thinks the only thing missing from this picture is a cigarette for Nick. 

"Ms. De Guillebon, this is my associate Amanda Montrose. Amanda, this is Ms. Natalie De Guillebon." 

"Ms. Montrose." 

"Have a seat Amanda. Ms. De Guillebon, have you gone to the police with this?" 

"Yes, they took down the information but they apparently believe Radivoje went back to his wife." 

"Is Mr. Radivoje Bacovic married?" 

"No, not that I know of; he didn't say much about his past. I don't believe he was married or had another woman. Ask Ms. Montrose, a woman has a sense for this sort of thing." 

"What makes you believe he didn't decide to disappear on his own?" 

"He and his car have disappeared but everything else was as if he was just going out for a pack of cigarettes." 

"How long have you known him?" 

"Three months." 

"That's not very long." 

"Not by a calendar maybe but it was as if -- I never met a man like this before." 

"I understand." 

* * *

Amanda walks into Nick's office. Nick, Bert, and three other men are putting on body armor and holstering their weapons. 

"World War III?" 

Nick turns to Amanda. "We got a break in the case. Would you want to suit up and come along?" 

"It's not the most flattering ensemble, but all right." 

* * *

It's night so the team members have on night vision goggles. Nick, Amanda, Bert, and the rest of the team approach a house outside the city. As they near the house Amanda and Nick feel the rush of another Immortal. Amanda rushes next to Nick covers her mike and whispers, "So much for the element of surprise." 

Nick raises his hand to signal for everyone to stop. "Be extra cautious. Something just doesn't seem right here. Amanda and I are going in first, cover us." 

Nick and Amanda run to the front door. Nick kicks open the door and Amanda runs inside, Nick following. They look at each other. Amanda points to the floor and Nick nods agreement. The rest of the team bursts into the house. 

"Amanda and I will check the basement." 

Nick and Amanda rush down a staircase to the basement where they see the Immortal. She is a small woman who looks in her late teens or early twenties. Her hands are cuffed and the cuffs are wrapped around a pipe. She has on a T-shirt and a loose fitting pair of jeans. She squirms violently and yells, "Get me out of here! Get me out of here!" 

Bert asks over the microphone, "What's going on?" 

Nick answers, "It's all right. We found what looks like a kidnap victim." 

Amanda rushes to the woman. "It would be easier of you stop shaking." She picks the lock on one cuff. The woman bolts for the staircase and shoots up the stairs. Nick and Amanda chase after her. She sees Bert stops sort and screams. 

"Bert, she's a hostage!" Nick grabs the woman. "It's all right." 

"We have to get out of here!" 

Amanda whispers to her, "It's all right. We're leaving." 

Amanda nods her head towards the door. Nick walks the woman to the door. He looks back at Bert, "Did you find him?" 

"We didn't find anyone." 

"You guys pile in the other vehicle." 

"We'll meet you at the police station." 

Nick takes the woman outside and ushers her in the back seat with Amanda. Nick steps in the front and drives. The woman screams, "Just drive! We're in danger! We have to get as far away from here as possible." 

Amanda tries to console the woman, "You're safe now." 

"No, you don't understand!" 

Amanda turns off her mike and signals for Nick to do the same. "We have to go to the police. There were mortals so we have to act like we're following their rules. We don't have much time to figure out what story you are going to tell them." 

"You don't understand." 

"Your kidnapper --" 

"Kidnappers, they're mortals! They know about us!" 

"Your story is they always had masks on and they didn't use any names. Understand?" 

"Yes, I understand. Did you hear what I said? They are mortals who know about us." 

"I heard what you said. We have to go to the police. We'll get out of there as soon as we can then we'll figure out what to do. What is your name?" 

"Holly Sanders." 

"Holly, I'm Amanda, this is Nick. Don't worry, everything will be all right." 

* * *

Amanda, Nick, and Holly walk out of the police station. Overhead the sky is black, the color shifting to lighter shades of blue as one looks east. There's a red tint on the false horizon. The sun will rise soon. Amanda and Holly step into the rear seats as Nick gets behind the wheel. 

"Just drive, trust me, we're not safe." 

Nick puts the SUV in gear. "We're safe; besides, we can't leave town." 

Amanda nods. "It's all right. Nick, do as she says, just drive." 

Nick hesitates for a moment. "Okay." 

After a few minutes driving, Holly, as Amanda expected, drifts off to sleep. Nick drives to The Sanctuary. Amanda wakes Holly and leads her inside and guides Holly to her bedroom. 

* * *

Amanda sleeps on her couch. A knock on the door wakes her. She looks at the wall clock that shows 12:10. _It'd better be midnight._ Opening her door, Nick is standing there. "What time is it?" 

"Just past noon." 

"Nick, can't this wait?" 

"Radivoje Bacovic is still missing and Holly is the best lead we've got." 

"I suppose, besides I really want to know about these guys anyway." 

Amanda quietly opens the bedroom door and creeps inside. She gently shakes Holly. "Holly, Holly." 

Holly wakes. 

"We have a few questions for you." 

Holly sits up and nods. 

"Come on, Nick is outside." 

Holly follows Amanda into her living room. "Where are we?" 

Nick answers, "We're still in Paris. Don't panic, just tell us why you think we won't be safe here?" 

"Those men that kept me there. They are part of a society that knows about Immortals. They have tattoos on their wrists. It's of the Greek letter Gamma." 

Amanda turns to Nick. "Watchers." 

"You know about them?" 

"We know about them and how to deal with them." 

Nick shows Holly a picture of Radivoje Bucolic. "Have you seen this man?" 

Holly closes her eyes tight and nods yes. 

"Is he one of them?" 

Holly quivers. "He was one of us? I killed him." 

* * *

**A WEEK EARLIER**

_I felt another Immortal approaching. I knew what would happen soon._

Five men bring an unconscious Immortal down to the basement. They shackle the Immortal around the pipe and one of the men remarks, "We have company for you Holly." 

The men go back upstairs. There was nothing Holly could do but wait until the next of their victims regained his consciousness. This is the fifth time she'd had "company". She knew what would soon happen. 

The man regains consciousness. Holly looks away. She feels the man violently pulling on the pipe. 

"Hello, hello, my name is Radivoje. What is your name?" 

"Holly." 

"Holly, the two of us might be able to break out of here if we work together." 

"What would you want me to do?" 

"If we both put all our weight on the pipe we might be able to break it." 

She nods her head and pulls as violently as she could, but knows it's useless. Two other victims had her try along with them. She knows what will happen to him she feels it's best to humor him. 

* * *

The cellar door opens. Now is the time for the long walk. They gag Holly and also gag and hood Radivoje. The two Immortals are led into the woods where their captors move some dirt before opening a hatch. They lead Radivoje and Holly down the ladder. One of Holly's hands is handcuffed to a rail, then they strap Radivoje to a guillotine before removing his hood. They position his head under the blade then remove his, and Holly's, gags. 

"Would you like to explain what happens next, Holly?" 

"Why are you doing this?" 

"Holly always has the same question. I assume you know the device you're strapped to Radivoje?" 

"Let the lady go or at least answer her question." 

"No; Holly is a very important part of this. You're an abomination of nature. Your only real purpose is to release your Quickening. It's time for you to fulfill your purpose." 

"She will take my head?" 

"Yes, the only question is precisely when. We've added an extra feature to this Lady." The man shows the switch to Radivoje. He activates the switch then forces it into Holly's hand. 

"Please no, not again!" 

"It works like a dead man switch. When she loosens her grip you become a dead man." 

Holly holds on as tight as she can. The men run behind a sandbagged barricade. 

"Holly, Holly, look at me Holly. Let go. Holly, you're only prolonging the inevitable. I'm going to close my eyes and I want you to let go. Please, Holly." 

Radivoje closed his eyes. Holly closes her eyes and forces her hand open. She hears the blade slide down and then the thud. She whimpers as she feels as if thousands of pins are poking her. A surge runs through her body. Then there are images of the many women in Radivoje's long life. She has feelings of great love and great loss. 

_When the Quickening ended they clapped and laughed._

* * *

**PRESENT TIME**

Holly sobs. Amanda turns to Nick. "I have a phone call to make." 

Nick nods, understanding. 

* * *

The bell rings. Amanda opens the door and shows Joe Dawson inside. 

"Joe, this is Holly Sanders. Holly, this is Joe Dawson. He's one of the good guys." 

"Glad to meet you, Holly." 

"Hello." Holly's look changes from subdued to shocked. She backs away quickly. "He's one of them!" 

Amanda rushes to Holly. "Holly, it's not like that!" 

Nick steps towards Joe. "Some of your friends kidnapped her and killed some Immortals." 

"Then they're not my friends." 

Amanda takes Holly's arm. "Holly, Watchers are like us. Some are good and some are bad." 

"I never met a bad Immortal." 

Nick gives a surprised look. "Then you haven't been an Immortal for very long." 

"My first death was in 1992. I've met nine Immortals. They were all good. I've met five 'Watchers', all bad." 

Amanda smiles. "Well you've just met a good Watcher." 

Joe takes a step toward Holly, she takes a step back. "Look Holly, the Watchers that did this are renegades. I, and every other loyal Watcher want to stop these guys." 

Amanda turns to Holly. "I told you I know how to deal with them. Joe is the way. Together we can put a stop to this." 

"We can go to my place and look at the database." 

Holly shakes her head. "No." 

Amanda steps over to Joe. "Could you get what you need and come back here?" 

"Yeah, sure." 

"Before you go... Holly, do you remember the names of the other Immortals?" 

Holly nods her head a few times and sobs. "Yes." 

* * *

Nick reads the newspaper as Amanda and Holly eat at a table in the empty club. 

"It was all platonic. Really, honest. I pretended to be his sister, younger of course." 

Amanda chuckles. "Of course darling." 

"He liked the ladies. He said at the beginning teachers shouldn't get involved with their students." 

Amanda looks at Nick's newspaper for a headline that might change the subject. "Wow, a plane with well over 500 passengers." 

Holly looks at Nick's paper then stares. "Is that date correct?" 

Nick gives a quick look at the paper's date. "The date is correct." 

"That means they kept me there for two years and three months." 

Amanda and Nick are at a loss for words. The doorbell breaks the silence. Nick jumps up and walks quickly to the door. It's Joe Dawson. Nick waves him in. Joe flashes a CD. 

"Let's go to my office. Yes, you can take it with you." 

Amanda stands and picks up her plate and Holly follows suit. Nick opens his office door for Joe, Amanda, and Holly. Joe hands the CD to Nick and he puts it in his computer. He invites Joe to take a seat at the computer. Joe types in a few keys then he turns the monitor so Holly can see the screen. 

"That's one of them!" 

"His name is George Garrison. He was your teacher's Watcher." 

"My teacher's name was Oren Springs." 

"Yeah, of course. What about this guy?" Another picture flashes on the screen. 

"He was also one of them." 

"His name is Ralph Moore. He was your Watcher." 

Another picture flashes on the screen. "I don't recognize him." 

Joe gives a slight smile then flashes another picture on the screen. 

* * *

Amanda, Joe, and Holly walk through the woods at night. Nick and loyal Watchers cover them from a discrete distance. The addresses of the renegade Watchers were bogus; they obviously planned ahead. Holly leads Amanda and Joe to a spot between two trees and a boulder. She brushes some dirt then pulls a handle. 

"Here it is." 

"The building was a safe house during the war. The Chronicles mention an emergency bunker." 

Amanda asks, "In the records of one of the victims?" 

"Yeah." 

They descend the ladder into a room. Amanda shines her flashlight around the room. Holly turns a switch and a light comes on. The room is as Holly described it. Joe looks around the room. Amanda raises the guillotine blade. She picks up the dead man switch then releases the mechanism. The blade comes down with a resounding bang. 

Holly jumps. "Amanda do you mind!" 

"I'm sorry." 

"Can we get out of here?" 

Joe looks behind the barricade. "I found something. Amanda, are you up to cracking a safe?" 

"Joe, I thought you'd never ask." 

Amanda looks behind the barricade. There's a small, vintage safe. Moments later Amanda opens the safe. "I still have it." 

There's a book in the safe. Joe takes it out and reads it. "It has names, dates, and descriptions of the executions and Quickening." 

"Bastards." 

"Can we get out of here, now?" 

"Yeah, I guess my people can do a thorough search of this place later." 

The trio make their way up the ladder and close the hatch. Shots ring out. Amanda and Joe drop to the ground and draw their handguns. Holly collapses. There's and exchange of gunfire in the woods. 

There's a voice over the microphone. "Joe, are you all right?" 

"Yea,h I'm all right." 

They hear rifle and automatic weapons fire in the distance. Amanda covers Joe as they travel in the direction of the gunfire. 

"Amanda, you don't have to be a human shield." 

"I'm bullet proof, you're not." 

A man, dressed differently from Nick and the Watchers comes into view. Joe shoots the man twice. Amanda and Joe link up with Nick and the Watchers. 

Joe looks at the renegade he killed. "How many is that?" 

"We counted four." 

Amanda turns to Joe. "I'd better go back to Holly." 

"I'll go with you." 

They walk towards Holly. They see her standing about twenty feet from where they left her, pointing to a tree. "He's hiding in this tree!" 

The other Watchers open fire at the tree. The renegade falls out of the tree and crawls on the ground. Joe closes in and fires two shots into the renegade. 

Amanda rushes over to a shaken Holly. 

"He said he was part of a growing organization and he could protect me from the others." 

"An old trick, pretend you are part of a large organization. His organization died with him, trust me. Holly, you did the right thing, and they did what they had to do." 

* * *

**EPILOGUE**

Nick looks on as range officer while Amanda fences with Holly. 

Amanda instructs, "Step back, back, trap, spin." 

Holly traps Amanda's sword then spins around. Amanda steps back as Holly's blade whooshes past. 

"Very good." 

"My heart stops every time I do that." 

"That's not so good, but you've come a long way." 

"Amanda, do you think I'll ever have to use this? After all it is the 21st century." 

"I've had to use this in the 21st century and so has Nick. Holly, it's not a question of if, but when." 

* * *

Holly says good-bye to Amanda and Nick and walks away. From a rooftop across the street Natalie De Guillebon watches Holly through a pair of binoculars. She has a Watcher tattoo. She checks her wristwatch; it's about time for her to check-in. 

THE END 

* * *

© 2006   
Please send comments to the author! 

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